


affection.

by witchboywriting



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Dystychiphobia, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 06:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18338066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchboywriting/pseuds/witchboywriting
Summary: You reached out grabbing ahold of Muriel’s hand and pulling it upwards, placing it on your shoulder, allowing him to do what he had intended to do moments before, and leaned down to place a chaste kiss to his knuckles. Muriel’s heart pounded, hardly thinking of the kiss you had given him, but what could happen next. Yet, as he counted down each pulverizing heartbeat, waiting for terror to strike, nothing terrible ever did happen. He was gentle with you and you were gentle with him.“See? Everything is fine.I trust you, Muriel.”





	affection.

**Author's Note:**

> enjoyed this work? want more? requests can be made [here](https://witchboy-writing.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> want to see updates on my stories? see how things are going? give opinions on what I should write next? hear my rants? follow me [here](https://witchboy-writing.tumblr.com/ask) on tumblr, love.

You watched a gentle hand reach up, bringing itself no more than a few inches from you before closing into a fist and dropping. He had done it again, finding himself in a fit of dystychiphobia. You sighed at the sight.

“Muriel, you won't hurt me. You know that don't you?”

Muriel was silent for a moment before nodding lightly.  
It was no more than a week ago that you had taken notice of Muriel's inability to touch you. Naturally, this would not have bothered you in the slightest if Muriel was simply not the type to show affection through physical touch or he simply did not wish to show that level of affection to you in particular. However, you had seen Muriel attempt to place a hand on your shoulder or wrap you in a hug only to fail to do so far too many times. He wanted to be affectionate. He was simply too afraid to do so.

Each time Muriel reached out all he could see was his past. All he could see was the pain he had caused others in order to save himself. He was selfish. He always had been. At least, that was how Muriel saw himself, and he would not allow himself to be selfish any longer. He was not going to hurt you, even if that meant he had to withhold from being with you in any way, even by a simple touch.

You reached out grabbing ahold of Muriel’s hand and pulling it upwards, placing it on your shoulder, allowing him to do what he had intended to do moments before, and leaned down to place a chaste kiss to his knuckles. Muriel’s heart pounded, hardly thinking of the kiss you had given him, but what could happen next. Yet, as he counted down each pulverizing heartbeat, waiting for terror to strike, nothing terrible ever did happen. He was gentle with you and you were gentle with him.

“See? Everything is fine.” You said, leaning in and wrapping your arms around the boy, placing a kiss to his nose, “I trust you, Muriel.”  
Muriel could feel his heart pound further, and, this time it was your fault.

Muriel had known you for quite some time and, in that time, you had made it apparent that you did not give away your trust freely. Trust was earned and when it was given by you it truly meant something.

Your trust in Muriel was nothing new. You had told him of this feeling before. Yet, it had taken Muriel a while to believe you. Each time you said it he stood one step closer to knowing the level of truth behind those words.

Muriel separated himself from you with hesitation and, for a moment, you thought your attempts at proving his own tenderness to himself had failed, but, rather than placing his hand back at his own side, he raised it, gently placing it against your cheek. You smiled, leaning into his touch in an attempt to convey the comfort and safety you felt with him, grabbing onto his hand with your own to prevent him from pulling away too soon.

“You are a softey, Muriel. The only thing dangerous about you is how hard you love.”

If you had said that to anyone else - Julian or Nadia or, even, Asra - they would have taken great offense to it, but it warmed Muriel’s heart when those words came from you. Those words put the way he viewed himself and his past into question. In fact, every praise you gave Muriel made him question his negative view of himself and question whether or not he had even been as terrible as he had thought.

What he thought to be anger and rage was now known to him as a simple wish to protect what was important to him.  
What he thought to be an anatomy made for violence now only reminded him of the comfort he felt when he held your smaller hand within his own. He felt much more comfortable with himself now that he had met you. He knew, if nothing else, he could take that fact away from your time together - the fact that he was valuable and more than his past.

“Thank you.” Muriel muttered out, removing his eyes from you as a nervous pout covered his face.  
His words were few and far between. They were chosen carefully and honestly, but, when he did not speak, it was his various affections that told you what he felt.

The way Muriel wrapped his arms around your waist in the moments that followed, for example, told you more than enough. That simple action told you of the love he had wanted to share, the nervousness he felt in sharing it, and the warm feeling in his heart when you had told him via your own actions and affection that his feelings were okay.

“Thank you.” He muttered out once more, burying his face into your chest so the words were practically unintelligible, but you could tell they had just as much meaning to them, “ _Thank you_.”


End file.
